Derrick Rose: ACL injury was ‘closest I got to death’

Derrick Rose is back in the gym for the first time since tearing his ACL in April. The former MVP opened up to CSN Chicago for an interview last month in Los Angeles. In the interview, Rose discusses all his thoughts about the play where he got hurt, and he says learning of the news was like death.

“I remember it,” he recalled. “I remember everything. I remember jumping in the air and coming back down, and just that popping sound. I felt it actually tear when I laid all the way out and it just let go.

“I didn’t have that that much pain after that. In the beginning I did, but I didn’t want to yell or anything. When that happened, all I could think about was people just talking. You could hear the whole arena, people just whispering all around — one of the things, like ‘Not again. Come on, man. First game back. We had the win’ — and I was just hoping [it was] nothing serious,” Rose continued. “Then, we got to the hospital, got in the MRI machine, the whole time praying.

“Dr. [Brian] Cole, the Bulls doctor [who also performed the subsequent surgery], came up to me and told me it was torn. I couldn’t believe it. That’s the closest thing to death, the closest to death I’ve got to right there, where it just seemed like the wind and everything was taken out [of me].”

It’s easy to see why Rose would describe the injury in such serious terms. Receiving the news probably devastated him and destroyed his spirit. He also may have been worried about the death of his career; Rose’s elite speed is a big part of his game, and if the knee surgery sapped it, then he would be less effective as a player.

Rose had difficult coming to terms with the injury at first, but now he seems to have gotten past it.

“It seemed like I wasted a year. I remember when I was having all those injuries, I was just thinking, ‘All right, I’ll be ready for the playoffs.’ First game of the playoffs, tear my ACL; can’t stay mad or irritated for months. I can’t do that. It’ll bring me down.”

The Bulls star credited his friends and family for helping him throughout his recovery.

There is no immediate prognosis on when he’ll return, but initial reports suggested he might miss 8-12 months. Knowing Rose, he’s probably dying to return before the season ends.